2020 Citizen's Guide to Ethical Leadership Among Elected Officials 2.0 - Leader Ethics Wisconsin

2020 Citizen’s Guide to Ethical Leadership Among
                  Elected Officials 2.0
Overview
In December of 2019, LeaderEthics-Wisconsin published the 2020 Citizen’s
Guide to Ethical Leadership Among Elected Officials. The purpose was to
provide practical suggestions for the average citizen to raise public
awareness regarding the importance of ethical leadership. At the time the
document was released, it was listed as “1.0”...recognizing that the political
environment is evolving and that future updates were likely.

In October of 2020, LeaderEthics-Wisconsin announced the 2.0
supplement. The links to both the 1.0 version and the 2.0 supplement are
below. We suggest the reader initially review 1.0 since it contains relevant
background information. And because the 2020 national election may have
some altering impacts, look for the 3.0 update in 2021.

Resources for Ethical Leadership
In the 1.0 version of the 2020 Citizen’s Guide, we listed eight organizations
that should be bookmarked as resources for promoting ethical leadership.
Each of these organizations take differing approaches. However, their
overriding goal is the same...to promote integrity in the American
Democracy. In the 2.0 supplement, we are highlighting three of those
organizations because of our increased use and positive involvement.

Bipartisan Policy Center - Provides articles and information about
bipartisanship actions. https://bipartisanpolicy.org The COVID-19 pandemic
has impacted the way many organizations are conducting their business.
The Bipartisan Policy Center is no exception. Since the spring of 2020, they
have been offering high quality virtual seminars at no cost to the viewer.
For example, a recent seminar focused on election integrity and it featured
the Secretary of State in Colorado (Democrat) and the Secretary of State in
Ohio (Republican). They shared their extensive experience with voting by
mail. They shared their respective process and guidelines to ensure voter
identification is thoroughly verified and the ballots are properly recorded.
The incidence of voter fraud in their states is virtually nonexistent. They
also concluded that, in their experience, voting by mail does not favor either
political party, and it has resulted in a higher level of voter participation.
Given the swirling misinformation about voting by mail, this kind of
programming is both informative and timely. And it is but one example of
the high-quality programs they offer. The Bipartisan Policy Center also
provides information on middle ground positions for a variety of policy
issues, providing a pathway for better collaborative legislative solutions.
They warrant a bookmark on your electronic device.

Braver Angels - Promotes civility between liberal and conservative views.
https://braverangels.org/. The Braver Angels organization (formerly known
as Better Angels) was founded by David Blankenhorn, Bill Doherty, and
David Lapp shortly after the 2016 presidential election. The organization's
name was inspired by Lincoln's plea for national unity at the close of his
first inaugural address. They quickly grew to become a national
organization with a presence in most states. Braver Angels promotes a
format for civil discourse among people who are declared conservative or
liberal voters. The goal is to help people develop a better understanding of

the tools of social discourse, allowing them to gain new insight into the
different, yet legitimate, perspectives others may hold.

Braver Angels has a Wisconsin presence. They have held a number of
sessions in communities around the state including three in La Crosse. In
recognition of the intensity of the November 2020 elections, they have
launched an initiative called With Malice Towards None. Essentially they
are focusing their efforts on establishing a civil dialog among citizens
regardless of the outcome of the election. Braver Angels, by their very
nature, puts their emphasis on conversations between citizens in local
communities. At LeaderEthics-Wisconsin, we believe this is where the
change process begins...in local communities. We encourage members
and followers to check them out.

The Fulcrum - Promotes strategies to reverse dysfunctions in the
American democracy. https://thefulcrum.us/ The Fulcrum is a nonprofit/
nonpartisan digital news organization focused on efforts to reverse
dysfunctions in the American democracy. Through original stories, news
gathered from other sources and The Fulcrum opinion forum, their efforts
are focused on money in politics, redistricting, voting rights, election
access, government ethics, civic engagement and the imbalance of
powers. In 2020, The Fulcrum initiated the Democracy Madness program.
Similar to the March Madness College Basketball tournament, The Fulcrum
developed an issue-based competition using feedback from members to
determine the issue with the greatest amount of public support. In the 2020
competition, the issue of Ranked Choice Voting surfaced as the highest
priority. The Fulcrum uses a variety of approaches to call attention to the
problem areas in the American democracy. Their determination and
persistence to build support for change is commendable.

                     What About Social Media News?
The growth and expansion of internet technology, particularly the increased
use of social media has led to a dramatic increase in the availability of
news. It has also led to the expanded development of a host of quasi media
sources with a variety of biases. There are various sources that show the
relative bias from media organizations. And their are a number of fact-
checking sources as well. At LeaderEthics-Wisconsin, we believe two
exemplary sources for checking media bias are AllSides and Media Bias/

Fact Check. It should be stated that both sites clearly state that all media
has some bias. We recommend members and supporters to bookmark
these two sites.

AllSides https://www.allsides.com
AllSides provides media bias ratings for over 800 media outlets and writers,
designed so consumers can easily identify different perspectives. Their
ratings of media sites range from liberal to conservative. They also cover
some stories simultaneously from the liberal-moderate-conservative
view...essentially providing a something like a “three dimensional
perspective” of the story. They regularly ask subscribers to “rate their
ratings” in order to ensure they are not inadvertently showing their own
bias.

MediaBias/FactCheck https://mediabiasfactcheck.com
Media Bias/Fact Check (MBFC), founded in 2015, is an independent online
media outlet. MBFC is dedicated to educating the public on media bias and
deceptive news practices. Similar to AllSides, they rate over 3000 media
sites worldwide ranging from liberal to conservative. However, they also
identify and rate scientific, satire and conspiracy sites. Furthermore, they
fact check the fact checkers.

                      What About Social Media Posts?
Some social media posts make only a vague reference to a news source
(or they are simply statements posted from an unidentifiable source) with
the intent of enticing a “like” and a “share”. They may be designed to raise
doubts about a particular candidate or political party. Or they may designed
to deepen the political polarization in this country. In any case, once you
are drawn into liking or sharing, you are providing your data which will likely
lead to future social media messages of a similar nature...a snowballing
effect. In essence, someone is seeking to draw you into their digital data
base so that they may potentially be able to manipulate your positions or
actions.

There are several sources for quick identification of unreliable and
disreputable postings in social media. LeaderEthics-Wisconsin likes the
summary provided by Ad Fontes Media, “Top Six Red Flags that a News
Story is Unreliable, Disreputable and Embarrassing for You to Share”.

It offers examples in lay terms that are easy to recognize. The following are
taken from this summary:

1) The post explicitly states that it is telling the truth, and/or everyone else
is lying to you

2) The post contains short conclusory opinion statements

3) The post is organized as a list of questions or hypotheses

4) The post puts the burden on you to answer the questions

5) The post asks you to prove a negative, which is often not possible

6) The post suggests a plot by someone (e.g. the media or government)
but does not exactly say what the plot is or provide any evidence for it.

They point out if any of these conditions is present, it is likely the post has
unreliable or disputable information. Remember, the social media business
model is based upon enticing users to share your data. When in doubt, do
nothing. If you find the post disturbing, block the source from future posts.
And we recommend members and supporters to bookmark the Ad Fontes
Media website for a periodic review.

Common Cause Education Fund - Disinformation Tip Line
You can take action to remove disinformation. This 501c3 nonpartisan
organization is an affiliate of Common Cause. They have developed a
national network designed to identify, report and remove disinformation
from social media...specifically posts intended to misinform voters or
suppress voting. They offer simple steps to report suspected disinformation
posts. Click here to check it out. https://reportdisinfo.org/

                         Sometimes Simple is Best
While it may be helpful to have a quick reference guide for promoting
ethical leadership, some of the best practices fall under the category of
common sense.

• Thank elected leaders who practice the core concepts of ethical
  leadership and let them know that people care about ethical
  leadership. When we have had conversations with current and former
  elected officials, they often remark that they greatly appreciate positive
  comments from constituents. At LeaderEthics-Wisconsin, we often refer
  to the “heavy lifting” of ethical leadership. In other words, living up to the
  principles of ethical leadership is not easy. And often, the legislative
  issues are not black and white, rather they are extremely complex.
  Elected officials greatly appreciate hearing from constituents who value
  their efforts. Let them know.

• Endorse & support bipartisan efforts. These efforts often do not get
  the media coverage. Your support can help change that. For example,
  the First Step Act of 2018 was significant bipartisan legislation, approved
  by Congress and signed into law by President Trump. It reduced
  sentencing for non-violent offenders in federal prisons. Essentially, it was
  the first major federal criminal justice legislation in more than two
  decades. Yet most citizens are not aware of the First Step Act. And this
  Act was not the only recent bipartisan legislation accomplished at the
  state of national level. Why is that? News coverage seems to clearly
  focus on conflict and political divisiveness. What can you do? As a
  citizen, you can thank elected officials when they support bipartisan
  efforts such as this, and you can share your appreciation with others.

• Support efforts to reach out to students. These are the next
  generation leaders. Your support can help them to endure the resistance
  they may experience in their efforts. And we can benefit from learning of
  their perspectives regarding the political landscape. For example,
  students at the University of Wisconsin- La Crosse formed a new student
  organization in 2019, Students for Ethical Leadership within Government
  (SELG). Local citizens can reinforce such efforts by inviting SELG
  members to speak at a service club or church group. Promoting ethical
  leadership among elected officials should be viewed as a journey that is
  best taken with others...particularly those in the next generation.

                                 Next Steps
The 2020 national election is likely to produce a shift in the political
landscape. LeaderEthics-Wisconsin will be pursuing dialog with members

regarding “next steps” beginning early in 2021. Look for updated
information through the monthly editions of The Ethics Report. For more
information about LeaderEthics-Wisconsin, check out our website at:
leaderethicswi.org. And if you like what we are doing, become a member.
You can help make a difference.

                                           Lee Rasch, Executive Director
                                                          October 2020